Early in his 14th novel, “Quichotte,” (Random House, 416 pp., ★★½ out of four stars), Salman Rushdie concedes that his story is a bit of a mess. Fentanyl, gun culture, mastodons and a portal to an alternative universe all figure in the plot, though like puzzle pieces from a missing box, they’re difficult to connect.

Still, Rushdie insists his novel requires this chaos: “So many of today’s stories are and must be of this plural, sprawling kind,” he writes, “because a kind of nuclear fission has taken place in human lives and relations… Such broken families may be our best available lenses through which to view this broken world.”

Rushdie’s path through this brokenness involves strata of shaggy-dog storytelling. The title character, Quichotte, the cousin of a corrupt Indian pharma executive, is crossing the country to win the heart of Salma, an actress turned talk-show queen. Hoping for a son, he conjures one, Sancho, effectively out of thin air. We soon learn that Quichotte’s story is conjured up too, written by a spy novelist with an estranged son. And, of course, Rushdie is conjuring the spirit of Cervantes’ picaresque 17th century classic, “Don Quixote,” with its questing, half-mad hero.

Quichotte’s road trip is instigated by an assignment to deliver under-the-table doses of fentanyl to Salma, who’s breaking under the strain of the spotlight. Overprescribed opioids and overexposed celebrities provide Rushdie with two easy targets for criticism. With Sancho in tow, he discovers plenty more, most potently the shooting of two South Asian men in a Kansas bar by an angry bigot. A splenetic aside underscores Rushdie’s sense that America has lost its grip: “We’re undereducated and overfed… We drive to the emergency room and send Granny to get our guns and cigarettes. We don’t need no stinkin’ allies… We are Beavis and Butt-Head on 'roids. We drink Roundup from the can.”

At his finest, Rushdie has been a master epic enchanter, drawing from myth, history and contemporary culture to expose generational injustices with a satirical spirit. The Trump era has served this sensibility well: His previous novel, 2017’s “The Golden House,” was a pointed allegory about a Trumpishly hollow alpha male. “Quichotte,” by contrast, is uncertain of its direction, as distracted as the distraction it aims to critique. Rushdie is too busy zipping among outrages to humanize the brokenness he insists was so motivating.

Author Salman Rushdie.(Photo: Rachel Eliza)

If Rushdie laments a world that “has become so accustomed to wearing its masks that it has grown blind to what lies beneath,” he’s still trying to have a good time as the world ends. The planet’s gone glitchy – mastodons reemerge, people wear dog collars as if they were indoctrinated into a cult – and his vision of the world’s end is rollicking. It also feels unintentionally cartoonish without substantial characters to support it.

The author of Quichotte’s life wants “to take on the destructive, mind-numbing junk culture of his time just as Cervantes had gone to war with the junk culture of his own age.” It’s a noble ambition, but like the world it imagines, “Quichotte” wheezes its way to the finish line.

Posted!

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

As we look back on the year in books and literature, one thing is immediately evident: There's no shortage of good things to read. Whether you're a fan of literary fiction, meaningful YA, charming rom-coms or thought-provoking nonfiction, we've got a title for you. Here are USA TODAY's best-reviewed books of the year so far, starting with "Inland" by Téa Obreht (star ratings are out of four stars) · ★★★½ · "Rivers of blood and ink have been spilled mythologizing the American Southwest, but rarely if ever with the sort of giddy beauty Téa Obreht brings to the page in 'Inland.'" Read the review. Random House

"The World Doesn't Require You," by Rion Amilcar Scott · ★★★½ · "Scott demonstrates the skill and long-range vision of a writer we need right now. 'The World Doesn’t Require You' requires a commitment from readers, one that will be greatly repaid in literary satisfaction." Read the review. Liveright

"The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator," by Timothy C. Winegard · ★★★½ · "Winegard’s study marshals scientific facts and millennia of historical background about the droning pest we all encounter that has killed nearly half of all human beings who’ve ever lived, profoundly altering our world along its bloodsucking way." Read the review. Dutton

"The Lager Queen of Minnesota," by J. Ryan Stradal · ★★★★ · "This hopped-up story will make your smile with its droll humor, and its poignant moments will stop you to reread and confirm that they are really that good. In beer-geek slang, Stradal’s novel is 'crushable' – easygoing, well-balanced, super-drinkable with tons of flavor … and will make you go back for more." Read the review. Pamela Dorman Books

"Someone We Know," by Shari Lapena · ★★★½ · "Lapena’s prose is tight and the chapters unfold in staccato, unnerving and mirroring the hurried and scattered thoughts of the characters. With each passing page, the story unfolds at an increasingly breakneck pace." Read the review. Pamela Dorman Books/Viking

"Crisis in the Red Zone," by Richard Preston · ★★★★ · "There have been more than 30,000 cases of Ebola, but it still seems like a disease of a far-away land, something that ravages small villages on the other side of the world. Preston’s reporting challenges that perception, explaining how the virus – and other emerging pathogens like it – touches us all." Read the review. Random House

"The Nickel Boys," by Colson Whitehead · ★★★★ · "'The Nickel Boys' is straight-ahead realism, distinguished by its clarity and its open conversation with other black writers: It quotes from or evokes the work of Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison and more. Whitehead has made an overt bid to stand in their company – to write a novel that’s memorable, and teachable, for years to come." Read the review. Doubleday

"The Chain," by Adrian McKinty · ★★★★ · "'The Chain" is that rare thriller that ends up being highly personal. Yes, there’s a shadowy force dictating the action, but when it all comes down to its (necessarily) explosive conclusion, the actions of characters are boiled down to familial ethics, understandable motivations, and good old-fashioned revenge, which makes for a satisfying and deeply rewarding read." Read the review. Mulholland Books

“On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous,” by Ocean Vuong · ★★★★ · “To read this book is to fill your whole life with it, albeit not briefly. Vuong’s is poetry that lingers in the blood long after the words have run out.” Read the review. Penguin Press

“Fleishman Is in Trouble,” by Taffy Brodesser-Akner · ★★★½ · “’Fleishman’ is a highly entertaining novel about 40-something foibles, but it also delivers a piercing message about just how much within a relationship is prone to misinterpretation.” Read the review. Random House

“The Ice at the End of the World: An Epic Journey into Greenland’s Buried Past and Our Perilous Future,” by Jon Gertner · ★★★½ · “Jon Gertner makes a compelling case that it’s time to start thinking seriously about Greenland and its growing relevance to our lives, and those of our descendants.” Read the review. Random House

“The Flatshare,” by Beth O’Leary · ★★★½ · “’The Flatshare’ is the traditional romance revival (with a twist) that no one asked for but everyone needs to devour immediately. Romance is far from dead − and all it might take is a bunch of sticky notes to a stranger.” Read the review. Flatiron

"Patron Saints of Nothing," by Randy Ribay · ★★★½ · "Ribay’s novel is not one to miss. It's a perfect balance of an immigrant story, an American story and a story of grief, woven together by the perspective of a teenage boy trying to understand his family and himself." Read the review. Kokila

“Disappearing Earth,” by Julia Phillips · ★★★½ · “Phillips is so skilled at conveying place and people, you can feel the chill of the shadow cast by Soviet-style apartment buildings, smell the blood soup, taste the burn of cheap vodka drunk too fast to numb the pain. It’s so specific, and yet so universal. These are stories of women the world over.” Read the review. Knopf

“Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis,” by Jared Diamond · ★★★½ · “Diamond’s blend of logical analysis and historical narrative amounts to more than just a self-help manual for sovereign states. By detailing how seven countries faced past upheavals with self-appraisal and bold adaptation, Diamond makes an erudite case for learning from history and applying its lessons to our global future.” Read the review. Little, Brown and Company

“Women Talking,” by Miriam Toews · ★★★★ · “Toews, who has written often about her own Mennonite history, has told a riveting story that is both intensely specific and painfully resonant in the wider world. ‘Women Talking’ is essential, elemental.” Read the review. Bloomsbury

"The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty,” by Susan Page. · ★★★½ · “In this insightful, touching, personal saga of the happiness and heartaches that shaped Bush into one of this nation’s most formidable first ladies, Page makes a compelling case that behind the trademark white hair, string of pearls and sharp wit was one of the most powerful, overlooked and under-appreciated women of our times.” Read the review. Twelve Books

“Save Me From Dangerous Men,” by S.A. Lelchuk · ★★★½ · “If you are looking for a new literary heroine who does not fit any of the stereotypical P.I. molds, and breaks a couple of them while she's at it, S.A. Lelchuk’s ‘Save Me From Dangerous Men’ should be at the top of your reading list.” Read the review. Flatiron Books

“On the Come Up,” by Angie Thomas · ★★★½ · “The thousands of readers who adored Angie Thomas’s first novel, ‘The Hate U Give’ — a blockbuster young-adult phenomenon that also happened to be riveting, timely and beautifully written — have been impatient for her follow-up. They are in luck.” Read the review. HarperCollins

“Daughter of Moloka’I," by Alan Brennert · ★★★½ · “Brennert’s polished work extends an evocative, emotionally rich family saga to an important moment in American history, and the readership he won with the first book will be grateful he took his time.” Read the review. St. Martin's Press

“The Night Tiger,” by Yangsze Choo · ★★★½ · “A missing finger and a houseboy determined to fulfill a deathbed request to reunite it with its owner. A devoted daughter secretly working at a dance hall to pay off her mother’s mahjong debts… And a series of mysterious deaths that may be linked to a rogue tiger... These are the tantalizingly twisted strands that (Choo) weaves together in her mesmerizing new book.” Read the review. Flatiron Books